Richmond fans are famous for their loyalty and there may be no more loyal Tiger than Andrew Sloman. Despite being based in New Zealand, “Slowy” rarely misses a game, travelling all across the country to follow the yellow and black. He has also often joined the team on their pre-season training camps, including making the trip to Arizona some years back. “Slowy” is with the team on their pre-season camp on the Gold Coast this week and we thought it would be great to get a fans perspective on what he sees on the camp and what excites him most about season 2019.

Day 5

The final full day was upon us. I’ve probably overused the phrase “massive workload”, but this day again met that brief.

We started with an Emma Murray Meditation session at 6am, which then flowed into a team meeting at 7.15am. Damien, Peter Burge and Tim Livingstone emphasised that physically the group will tested today, and it’s no different to a ¾ time press. Mentally the squad was prepared.

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We ventured down to Bond University Oval for a 3 hour session including 6 v 6 match simulation, end to end sprints, shuttle runs, hand ball drills, Line Structure Drills, one on one marking and Richmond Fundamentals. The comradery was strong and the team chat level was high and supportive, particularly from the birthday boy Jayden Short. There were some great celebratory moments as players in the rehab group increased their workload. At the conclusion of the session, Damien celebrated that the group had completed their loads successfully and to a really high standard. Jack Ross was a standout.

But the work was not over. We moved to Currumbin for a hill climb running session. The players did 6 repetitions of the extremely steep climb. Some mere mortals (not players!) did 3 repetitions. The Queensland Police very kindly blocked the road for us and we reciprocated with a team photo with sirens and lights activated.

The other great thing about this location, and our travels across the region generally, is how many Richmond supporters came out to observe at locations that even the players were unaware of until the last minute. The support was greatly appreciated.

After the run, the players had the choice of having a swim at Currumbin Beach or returning to the team hotel for a strength session. Nearly all chose the hotel and the weights. Hard working to the end!

A Skirmish session followed, to provide a warm down and some collective hilarity, until a Richmond Man Team meeting at 6pm. Some themes were established at the start of the week, and Damien quite poignantly concluded the week by reinforcing the themes and the pathway forward. We were very fortunate to receive a tee shirt from the coach to reflect and continually trigger these themes, and I shall wear it with pride. The Tony Mangan Award was then presented to Oleg Markov. Oleg was judged to have displayed Tony’s “non-negotiables” value set to an exemplary level throughout the week. A great Richmond Man effort.

As is a key value of the club, we celebrated the conclusion of the camp appropriately. Day 6 is just a travel day back home. On behalf of the group of helpers, I’d like to thank the playing group and staff of the Club for the incredible level of inclusion, and the privilege of assisting with all facets of this important preseason week, and personally for the opportunity to write this blog for all Tiger supporters. The feedback, even from a supporter in Nepal, has been great.

 

Go Tiges! Bring on the 2019 season!